Never Did Like
by Geeklove4eva
Summary: A secret admirer is sending Sara cards with butterflies in them. Will Sara's fear of the insect ruin the budding relationship?


Never Did Like By Gabby Castillo  
  
Author's note: Yay, my first posted fanfic!! I'm so excited! I got the idea for this one from one of the posters on the UtB forums. Basically it's what if Sara were afraid of butterflies. This is the best scenario I could think of, so I hope you all like it!! Yay!!  
  
Spoilers: Hmmm, Butterflied and Play with Fire. I think that's all. If you see any others, just tell me!  
  
Disclaimer: Oh, yeah, and did I mention these characters are not mine?? Ok, now I did.  
  
*****************  
  
There were many things in life that Sara Sidle didn't like. Socks with holes in the toes, the color neon green, rape cases, strawberry flavored blow pops and spit were just a few, but there was one thing Sara really couldn't stand. And it was thanks to recent events that she was reminded of this… dislike.  
  
"Nick! Nick, where are you?" Sara stormed down the hallways, shoving past people and looking through the glass walls into labs where evidence waited to be processed.   
  
Nick stepped out of trace, and right in front of Sara. Caught off balance, she nearly fell backward, before catching herself. She stood in front of Nick, hands on her hips, lips pursed. A battle stance by all means.  
  
"Sara? What's up, I heard ya callin' for me," asked Nick.  
  
"I got another one!" Sara said, her temper flaring.  
  
Nick was confused. He tucked the manila envelope he had carried out of trace under his arm.  
  
"Whoa, whoa, now calm down," he said quietly, "What did you get?"  
  
"One of these," said Sara as she thrust a card into his hands.  
  
Nick looked at Sara, and raised an eyebrow. He flipped the card over in his hands and read the front.  
  
"Words can't describe…" it said in delicate letters. A sunny field filled with flowers provided the background.   
  
Nick smiled a lopsided grin and looked up at Sara, but was met with a glare that could disable even the most charming man.  
  
"Keep going," she said through clenched teeth.  
  
He flipped open the card and continued. A paper butterfly fluttered out into his hands. The fragile paper tickled his palm as he turned it around in his hand. He set it back in the card as he finished reading the words on the page under his breath.  
  
"… how high my love flies  
  
Like this butterfly  
  
Through the bright sky.  
  
I wish I could tell you   
  
how I feel  
  
And how I know  
  
That this love is for real."  
  
Nick looked up at Sara. "Sara, these are probably some of the sweetest words I've heard in ages," he paused, his eyebrows creased in concern, "what's wrong with it?"  
  
"This," Sara said, pointing to the paper butterfly, " is wrong with that."  
  
Nick chuckled, then handed the card back to Sara.  
  
"It's just a butterfly, Sara."  
  
Sara wrung the card in her hands and looked down at the floor. She bit the inside of her cheek and let her eyes focus on Nick's shoes.  
  
"Sara?" he stepped closer, and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.  
  
"Let's just say I had a bad butterfly encounter as a kid," she mumbled, looking up at Nick. He nodded and motioned for her to follow him.  
  
They made their way to the break room. Sara sat down in one of the plushy chairs that littered the room. Nick pulled up a chair from the table and sat next to her.  
  
"Who sent it to you," asked Nick, " maybe I can talk to them, tell them to back off a bit?"  
  
Sara shook her head, "I don't know who it's from or any of the other four I've gotten, for that matter. Everyday for the past week I've opened up my locker and one has fallen out. I've asked tons of people and no one has seen anyone go in there but the usual CSI's. I just don't understand who would put them there," she let out a frustrated sigh.  
  
Nick bit his bottom lip, "How 'bout fingerprints, did you check for those?"  
  
Sara rolled her eyes, "It's just some silly prank, Nick, not a homicide."  
  
Nick chuckled. " Well, maybe someone really has something for you, but is just to chicken to come out and say it."  
  
It was Sara's turn to laugh. She got up from her chair and tossed the card into the trash.  
  
"I'm going to ballistics. I've got a possible murder weapon being processed. I'll see ya around," Sara said as she walked out the door.  
  
Nick smiled and shook his head, then headed for the door himself. He paused at the trash can and stared at the card briefly. He considered picking it up and running it for prints himself, but he let the idea go and instead headed out the door to find Warrick and update him on their case.  
  
*****************  
  
  
  
"I'm telling' you War, it's bugging the crap outta her. I've never seen Sara so worked up over something so small," said Nick as he pulled off his grungy shirt.  
  
The two males were in the locker room after a successful arrest. Shift was almost over and changing into a fresh pair of clothes was high on their priorities list.  
  
"That bothered over a butterfly? Are you sure this is our Sara?" asked Warrick as he buttoned up his shirt.  
  
"She was scared, man. Totally weirded out."  
  
Warrick and Nick turned their heads when they heard the click of shoe heels on the linoleum. It was Grissom. They nodded at him as he walked to his locker, then resumed their conversation.  
  
"Do you know who's giving them to her?" asked Warrick.  
  
"No, and neither does she. I'd like to the guy who is though," said Nick as he closed his locker and headed for the door.  
  
"I'll talk to you later, man," he said, then added, "See ya around, Griss."  
  
Grissom nodded as he fumbled around his locker. Warrick soon followed Nick out the door.  
  
Grissom let out a sigh of relief. He reached back into his locker and pulled out an envelope. He looked around the room, making sure no one was still around, then quickly made his way to Sara's locker. He looked around once more, then slipped the envelope into the tiny slits at the top. He let his eyes wander around the room once more, then headed for the door. And as quickly as he had come, he was gone.  
  
*****************  
  
Sara warily made her way towards the locker room. She licked her dry lips and nervously tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. She sighed.  
  
'This is stupid,' she thought to herself as she entered the dimly lit room, ' Who cares if there's another card, or another butterfly? It's just a piece of paper, it can't… do anything."  
  
Sara placed her hand on her locker, ready to open it. She hesitated. She closed her eyes and rubbed the bridge of her nose. Frustration building up inside of her, she finally opened her locker.  
  
With a 'plop', a white envelope tumbled to the ground. Sara's eyes got wide as she slowly sand to the floor to retrieve it. Her fingers softly made contact with the envelopes surface. They traced over the edges lightly, before curling around them and picking it up.   
  
Sara opened it up and gingerly took out the card. She stared at its cover; it was just a rose, with beads of dew covering its delicate petals. She bit her bottom lip, then slowly opened the card. As soon as she had it open, a paper butterfly glided to the ground, softly landing by her feet.  
  
Sara gasped and stepped back. She stared at the blue butterfly laying at her feet, before turning her attention back to the card in her hands. Her eyebrows creased in confusion when she saw only two short lines written inside.  
  
"Joe's  
  
9 am"  
  
Looking around the room, Sara stuck the card into her back pants pocket. She checked her watch: 8:12. She went to her locker and quickly grabbed her things. Then she headed for the door.   
  
The paper butterfly blew across the floor in her wake.  
  
*****************  
  
Joe's was a small diner outside of the hustle and bustle of The Strip, a place hidden from tourist's prying eyes and wandering feet. Its customers were few; mostly business people trying to get away from the noise of the city and occasionally the graveyard shift CSI's dropping by for a quick breakfast before heading home. All in all a great place for meeting a "secret admirer"… or embarrassing the hell out of yourself.  
  
Sara turned off the ignition and sat in her car. She stared at the door handle, wondering if she should pull on it and leave the safety of her car. She wondered what the consequences would be. Who could be inside, or was it just some prank being played on her by one of her fellow CSI's? She let curiosity get the better of her. She stepped out of the car and walked inside.  
  
Sara took a deep breath as she stepped through the door. Her eyes wandered around the dimly lit diner. A few weary looking men in wrinkled suits sipped on coffee at booths near the window. A college girl sat at a table in the center of the room, reading a text book and picking at a pancake.   
  
Sara's head turned towards the corner where the CSI team usually sat. It was poorly lit, and perfect for eyes still adjusting to the morning sun. She squinted as she searched the corner, then gasped.  
  
Grissom sat nursing a plate of scrambled eggs as he sat at the usual table.  
  
Sara's eyes went wide and her breathing became shallow. Her feet wanted to move towards the door, but they remained glued to the floor. Her pulse quickened as she closed her eyes. In her heart, she knew she had wanted to find him here, but her mind made her rationalize. She had asked him out before, and he had plainly said no. She still felt the sting, everyday. Her heart countered though. His words from the interrogation room echoed through her head… "Some one young and beautiful comes along… I couldn't…"   
  
She knew he felt something for her, even if he wasn't able to admit it. But then again, here he was, sitting at the table, in the diner where the card said to be. Maybe he finally knew what to do about "this." But even so, she was scared, and never before in her entire life had Sara wanted to run away more then now.  
  
But it was too late. She opened her yes when she heard her name.  
  
  
  
"Sara?" said Grissom.  
  
Her eyes met his and she gave him a small smile as her feet slowly led her to the table. She sat slowly in the chair across from him and neatly folded her hands in her lap. She took a deep breath and let it out.  
  
A waitress walked over to the table and took her order. She chomped on her bubble gum noisily, then left the two alone.  
  
Silence hung between them. They exchanged awkward glances, until finally Sara spoke.  
  
"Grissom? Can I ask you a question?" she said softly.  
  
Grissom looked up from his eggs, then licked his bottom lip.  
  
"Sure," he replied.  
  
Sara put her hands on the table and looked down at them as she began.  
  
"Have you… have you been putting cards with paper butterflies into my locker?" she asked.  
  
Grissom sat still in his chair. He bit his bottom lip and stared at Sara. She shifted nervously in her seat.  
  
"No, no of course you didn't. I didn't… I wasn't…," but she was cut off when he said her name.  
  
"Sara, calm down," he said, taking a deep breath, " I… I did put those in you locker. That was me. I'm sorry, its just… I didn't know how to tell you in person. I thought I might be too late. I was so afraid of what you might say, especially after how these last few months have been between us, that I… I don't know. I hope you understand."  
  
His yes searched hers for an answer. She blinked once, then twice. Then she smiled a mega-watt smile. Slowly a laugh crept out as she looked at him.  
  
"What?" he said, smiling back at her.  
  
"You went… through all that… just to tell me that…"   
  
"I love you," he finished, and Sara stopped laughing.  
  
Their eyes met and he grabbed her hand. Her heart was beating wildly as his thumb caressed the top of her hand.  
  
"I mean it too," he whispered.  
  
  
  
He got up and kneeled down in front of her. He cupped her cheek. A tear escaped from the corner of her eye and he gently wiped it away.  
  
"I love you too, Grissom," she whispered.  
  
She had said the magic words. Slowly, they leaned into each other. After what seemed like forever, their lips met for the first time. Time slowed and for a while they were the only two people in the universe. That is, until they heard someone clear their throat behind them.  
  
They smiled as Grissom pulled away. He slowly turned to look at the waitress who stood behind him, one hand on her hip, the other holding a plate of scrambled eggs. He continued to chomp on her gum as she watched Grissom slowly get up. He smiled at her, and Sara tried hard to suppress a laugh.  
  
"Order of eggs," she set the plate down on the table. She winked at Grissom as she walked away.  
  
The two CSI's started laughing as Grissom grabbed Sara's hand.  
  
"Let's get out of here," he whispered as he tugged on her hand.  
  
Sara flashed him another mega-watt smile, then stood up with him. Hand in hand they walked to the door. Before they left, Sara stopped at door.  
  
"Oh, Grissom, just to let you know… I don't like butterflies. They scare the hell outta me."  
  
"Why?" asked Grissom.  
  
"When I was four, I fell asleep at a family picnic. I woke up choking on a butterfly that had landed in my mouth while I was asleep," she smiled as he squeezed her hand.  
  
"I'll remember that," he said, "Let's go, honey."  
  
And so, hand in hand, they walked out into the sunrise and into the new chapter of their story together.  
  
THE END 


End file.
